


Cherry Blossom Pink

by ZeroHorizon



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Canon, F/F, MiSaMo - Freeform, Mina is their baby, The softest friendship ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 10:33:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20226412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeroHorizon/pseuds/ZeroHorizon
Summary: Sana and Momo have been best friends since they met at JYP. They call themselves twins due to their similar interests in music, dancing, the color pink, and a quiet girl named Myoui Mina.





	Cherry Blossom Pink

**Author's Note:**

> J-Line are very precious to me. I'm so soft for their relationship, especially when they baby their maknae Mina. I hope this story captures all the warmth and love that their friendship holds.

Sana met Mina on a cold winter day in early 2014. The unfamiliar, long haired girl standing nervously in the corner of the practice room caught Sana's attention immediately. Mina's expression was so nervous and fearful that Sana wondered if the girl would crumble if Sana went over to greet her.

Sana smiled to herself, remembering how nervous she had been on her own first day as a trainee; that is, until she became friends with Momo, who started as a trainee on the very same day. Although trainee life was difficult and stressful, having a true friend like Momo by her side made things a little easier to endure. Sana hated to watch people struggle by themselves, so it was without hesitation that she made her way over to the new trainee and introduced herself.

"Hello, my name is Sana," she said in Korean.

"Eh?" Mina said looking up in surprise. Her eyes were wide and wary despite staring into Sana's kind eyes.

_"So pretty..." _Sana thought to herself as she waited for the girl to speak.

"H-hello, I'm Mina," Mina replied, returning the greeting nervously in Korean. "It's nice to meet you."

It was perfect Korean spoken in a perfect Korean accent to the point that Sana would have been fooled into thinking the girl stranding in front of her was Korean. But with that faint "eh?", Sana knew...

"You're Japanese aren't you?" she asked Mina in standard Japanese, using their native language.

Mina blinked in surprise. "Ehhhh? How did you know?" she asked Sana in Japanese.

Sana stifled a laugh, but didn't stop to explain how the Japanese "eh?" had given away her identity because she noticed something even more interesting. "Are you from the Kansai region?" Sana asked, detecting a subtle Kansai accent from Mina even though she spoke using standard Japanese.

Mina's wide eyes somehow widened even further. "Ehhhhh? Seriously, how did you know?"

"Because I'm from Osaka," Sana replied, letting her heavy Kansai accent and dialect take over her previous attempt at standard Japanese. "It's nice to meet another person who uses Kansai-ben here. If you need anything, let me know, OK?"

Mina smiled, but it was a reserved kind of smile. "Thank you, Sana-san," Mina said politely.

"Oooooh, who do we have here?" a cheerful voice asked. Momo came over to where the two girls were standing and draped an arm over Sana's shoulder, peering curiously into the eyes of the new girl. "Friend or rival?" Momo joked while speaking in Korean. 

Sana could tell by Mina's adorably puzzled expression that she hadn't understood a word of what Momo had said.

"She's definitely not a rival," Sana smiled, answering Momo's Korean question in Japanese. "Momo-chan, meet our new friend, Mina-chan."

That was the first time that Mina, Sana, and Momo were together.

* * *

In the weeks that followed, Sana and Momo learned more about Mina, but only a little bit at a time. Mina was shy, to put it mildly. Momo and Sana were the outgoing and friendly type. They talked to everyone, joked with everyone, and were very easy to approach. So they found it odd at first that Mina was so distant with them no matter how hard they tried to befriend her.

"Do you think we're scary, Mina-chan? Is that why you never play with us?" Momo asked her one day, noting that Mina was sitting by herself yet again after dance practice. Sana and Momo came to sit next to Mina. They were always the ones to try to engage her first, never the other way around. When Mina shyly turned to look up at them, Momo began poking Sana's squishy cheeks with her fingers. "See? Sana-chan's soft. She won't hurt you."

"Yah," Sana whined, pushing Momo's hand away. "If anything, you're the scary one, Momo-chan. You're always so loud!"

The two bickered back and forth like an old married couple, causing Mina to smile.

"Ah, she smiled!" Sana cried with delight.

"She smiled!" Momo repeated, raising her hands triumphantly.

The two hugged each other fiercely and collapsed in a pile of giggles as Mina watched.

"Are you two always like this?" Mina wondered.

"Yes," Momo and Sana replied together.

"And you would know that if you would just hang out with us like we keep telling you to!" Momo said, moving to poke Mina playfully on the cheek as she had poked Sana. But when Mina flinched after the first poke, Momo quickly pulled back her hand. "Sorry..."

"Are we bothering you?" Sana asked, suddenly wondering if they were a nuisance. They had both assumed that Mina was shy and needed coaxing in order to have fun with them, but they hadn't asked themselves if Mina just preferred to be by herself. "Do you want us to leave you alone?"

Mina shook her head.

"Then why are you always by yourself after practice and lessons?" Sana asked her gently. "Why not make friends with us or the others?"

Mina pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them, lowering her head and hesitating a bit before responding. "...I get lonely when I'm by myself, but sometimes I get so nervous when I'm with people that it's better to be alone."

The honest response was so melancholic that Sana felt an overwhelming desire to protect this girl that she had only known for a month. If it had been anyone else, Sana would have given that person a comforting hug of reassurance. But because Mina was so shy, Sana simply sat down next to the younger girl, leaning into Mina so that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder.

"Let's be friends, Mina-chan," Sana said, resisting the urge to hold Mina's hand or to pat Mina's hanging head reassuringly. "The three of us will hang out together all the time from now on. We want you to be able to depend on us when you need it."

Momo scooted over to the other side of Mina, shoulder to shoulder, and made a similar promise. "Let's be friends, Mina-chan. Let's have lots of fun together, ok?"

The three of them sat next to each other with Mina sandwiched between them. There was a long pause in which Momo and Sana glanced at each other over Mina's head, unsure how the younger girl would respond to their kindness. But after a moment, they saw Mina's head dip in the slightest of nods.

"...thank you."

The two older girls shared a warm smile, somehow feeling that their friendship with Mina was the beginning of something special.

* * *

The three of them went out for _ddeokbokki_ after practice one day in the middle of March. They sat closely to one another at an outdoor table in the cold weather, sharing the delicious food happily.

"Say 'ah', Momo-san," Mina said with a smile as she fed Momo a piece of _ddeokbokki_. It was always Momo-san and Sana-san or Momo-unnie and Sana-unnie since the moment they met. The two older girls had suggested for Mina to call them more familiarly because the age difference between them was negligible despite being born in different years, yet the younger girl seemed content with being polite. The formal honorifics were just another obstacle in becoming closer to Mina.

_"Well, feeding us is an improvement,"_ Sana noted to herself, biting down on a piece of _ddeokbokki_ offered by Mina. Compared to the quiet, withdrawn persona from last month, Mina had opened up to them a bit more now, actually accepting their offers to go play and eat together. Mina was so charming and adorable that it was almost a shame that only she and Momo got to experience this side of Mina.

They saw a group of friends at a bench nearby giving a girl a birthday gift and singing happy birthday in Korean.

"How nice," Mina said, smiling fondly at the friendly scene.

Sana smiled at the younger girl and fed her a piece of _ddeokbokki_ in return. "We'll do that for you too when it's your birthday, Mina-chan."

"When is that, by the way?" Momo asked.

Mina hesitated a bit, taking time to chew and swallow slowly. "...it's next week."

Sana and Momo blinked in surprise.

"Are you serious?" Momo asked. "If we hadn't asked you just now, would you have just let your birthday pass without anyone celebrating it?"

Mina looked away before she answered. "...yes."

There was that honesty again. That melancholic honesty that made Sana just want to protect Mina forever. Her heart ached with sadness and Sana could stand it no longer. She reached across the table and put her hand on top of Mina's. The younger girl was surprised and jumped at the touch, but Sana held on to her hand firmly.

"Mina-chan, leave your birthday to us. We'll take care of it, OK?" Their eyes met briefly before Mina looked away again shyly. She nodded and smiled faintly, entrusting her first birthday without her family into the hands of her new friends. "T-thanks, Sana-san."

Sana nodded and smiled as well. It was the first time she held hands with Mina.

* * *

Mina found herself thinking a lot about Sana and Momo lately. She was terrible at expressing herself and conveying her gratitude to them, and she was worried that she had become too much of a burden on her new friends. After all, she barely spoke Korean and was still new to trainee life. She was relying on Sana and Momo far too much in order to survive in Korea.

She walked back to her dorm room and went inside. Mina expected the room to be empty aside from her belongings, so she was shocked to find Sana and Momo sitting on the floor next to her bed. They were both wearing party hats and there was a birthday cake nearby, but clearly they weren't ready for her yet. Momo and Sana stared up at her like a deer in headlights. It was the first time Mina saw them being anything but hyperactively happy, and it was cute.

Time unfroze itself a second later and Momo and Sana jumped into action. Momo shoved the half wrapped present under the bed and Sana quickly covered up the card she was writing in. Then they both leapt up and hugged her tightly.

"Happy birthday, Mina-chan! Congratulations!"

Mina had to fight the urge to pull away from their hug. She wasn't really the type for skinship. She didn't kiss or hug or hold hands easily, but for Sana and Momo, she would try. And really, Mina was absurdly pleased by the surprise party. It was just new for her, the eternal shy girl.

"OK, we need you to turn around and count to one hundred," Sana said, immediately grabbing Mina by the shoulders and turning her to face the door.

"Eh? Why do I need to count?" Mina wondered.

"Because you came home too soon, so you need to give us more time to finish preparing," Momo explained. Mina could hear her retrieve the present from under the bed and continue wrapping.

"So this is my fault?" Mina asked.

"Yes," Sana and Momo replied at the same time. The three of them giggled.

Mina closed her eyes and counted slowly, listening to the sounds of rustling paper, ripping tape, and faint, frustrated muttering from Momo all the while. She couldn't hear Sana, but she assumed Sana was furiously scribbling in the card. When Mina at last reached one hundred, she opened her eyes and found that the lights were dimmed. The candles on her cake were lit, the wrapped present and birthday card sat nearby, and Momo and Sana's faces were aglow with excitement.

Mina was touched that they had put forth so much effort to celebrate a birthday that they had only learned about recently. She opened her gift to reveal a new winter scarf that matched the ones Momo and Sana frequently wore. She opened the birthday card and read their sincere congratulations and kind words of encouragement and adoration.

When Mina looked up from the card, two pairs of warm eyes watched her serenely. The younger girl smiled back at them, finally realizing the depth of their friendship. Mina had intentionally avoided calling Sana and Momo with affectionate honorifics all this time, initially because they were unfamiliar trainees, but later on as well because she was uncertain how much she could trust two people who were ultimately her rivals in debuting at JYP. But after today, she wouldn't doubt Sana and Momo anymore. 

Mina reached out and slowly pulled them both into a hug at the same time. Her heart felt warm from the surprise party, but she felt even warmer from giving them this hug. "Thank you, Sana-chan, Momo-chan," she whispered sincerely.

Momo realized the change first, pulling back quickly from the hug the instant she heard Mina say their names with informal honorifics. The sudden movement caused Sana to turn to the eldest girl in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you hear it?" Momo asked Sana, clearly moved by Mina's gesture. "She finally said it."

Sana looked back and forth between an excited Momo and an embarrassed Mina with confusion. And then the realization dawned on Sana as well. Mina would never forget that look on Sana's face. The older girl's eyes widened with sentiment. Her lips trembled and the soft tears fell before Mina could say anything else. And then Sana was hugging her again even tighter than before, her arms wrapped around Mina's shoulders, her head buried in Mina's neck, her body shaking gently from her quiet tears.

Bewildered by the overly strong reaction from Sana, Mina patted the crying girl awkwardly on the back and looked toward Momo for help. But Momo just shrugged with an affectionate smile and patted Sana on the back as well.

"She's been looking forward to you calling us '-chan' for a while now. I can't believe she cried though. Aigoo," Momo murmured kindly to Sana, her hand rubbing gentle and reassuring circles against Sana's back. "You're so sentimental, Sana-chan."

Mina had never had friends quite like this before. She never imagined that there would be someone in the world who would cry for her. Was it possible that she wasn't quite the burden she thought she was? Was her existence that important to someone outside of her family? Mina could feel the emotions welling up inside of her chest, threatening to burst forth despite Mina's efforts to retain control.

"But we've only known each other for three months. Do you guys really like me that much?" Mina wondered softly. 

Momo shook her head in disbelief and responded by gently resting her forehead against Mina's. And Sana, whose head was still buried in Mina's neck, simply nodded.

Mina felt her heart burst. Nestled within Momo and Sana's embrace, it was the first time since she arrived in Korea that Mina let anyone else see her tears. For the first time ever, she felt safe crying in front of someone else instead of vulnerable. Before this day though, Mina had been crying tears of loneliness. But right now, with Momo and Sana wiping away her tears together, Mina was anything but lonely.

* * *

Today was the first day that Momo had to stop calling herself a contestant of "Sixteen". Her unexpected elimination from yesterday still hurt today, perhaps even moreso now that the truth was finally sinking in. Momo spent last night in her trainee dorm room instead of the "Sixteen" dorms and cried herself to sleep, trying to come to terms with her new reality.

There would be no more "Sixteen" from this day forward, no more "Twice", and no more Sana and Mina. The two younger girls were still filming for the survival show and would be occupied with it for another month. But even after "Sixteen" ended, their relationship would never be the same. Momo knew without a doubt that Sana and Mina would debut together in Twice and she was happy for them, but where did that leave her? 

It was a monumental struggle, but Momo dragged herself to practice the day right after her elimination. She thought about returning to Japan last night and she still thought about it today, but Mina and Sana's faces kept appearing in her head. No, Momo couldn't quit. She had to keep going, she had to keep practicing. The three of them encouraged each other not to give up throughout "Sixteen" and even before the survival show started. Momo couldn't lose focus now. Although they wouldn't be in the same group, she might still be able to debut one day, and she might still be able to stand on the same stage with them at JYPnation concerts in the future.

Momo stared at the empty training room. She ignored the numbness in her body and forced herself to move. She ignored the sullen reflection in the mirrors and forced herself to dance. But when she thought about the their shattered promise to debut together, she broke down and cried.

Sana and Mina had cried with her yesterday. The truth was too hard for anyone to accept, and yet they all had to face the reality. Momo wouldn't be able to see them again until practice began for the final "Sixteen" stage, so Momo gave Sana one last message before they parted ways yesterday.

"You and Mina do your best and make sure you debut. I'll be cheering for both of you," Momo said to Sana, putting on her best attempt at a brave face. "And make sure to protect her since I won't be there to help you."

Sana understood exactly what Momo meant. They talked a lot about Mina whenever the younger girl wasn't around. Although Mina was only a few months younger than them, they both doted on her like a little sister. They always wanted to protect her, to make sure nothing ever hurt her. It wasn't that they didn't believe Mina could take care of herself. They just loved her too much to leave her on her own.

Momo cried by herself on the training room floor, too frustrated by reality to get up. She wanted to continue moving forward with Sana. She wanted to be able to protect Mina herself instead of entrusting her to someone else. What was the point of trying to survive by herself? Why shouldn't she just give up and go home now that "Sixteen" had cast her aside?

_"Because I believe in you,"_ Momo heard Mina say.

Momo stopped crying and sat up. Mina's voice sounded like it was right in her ears, like the maknae of the Japan team was sitting right next to her. But when Momo looked around, there was no one was in the training room except for herself. She was imagining things, remembering what Mina had said to her yesterday before Mina and Sana had to return to the "Sixteen" dorms.

"I know it'll be hard, but don't give up just yet, Momoring. This isn't the end for you _be__cause I believe in you_, so please keep doing your best while we're apart." Mina raised her fist in a show of support. "Sattang and I are cheering for you."

Mittang, Sattang, and Momoring. Mina-ya, Sana-ya, and Momo-ya. The three of them had come a long way together over the last year. Mina especially had come a long way from being the quiet girl who used to avoid them. They had come to Korea as strangers, but they were best friends now. More than that, they were a family.

Momo remembered smiling in response to Mina's encouragement yesterday, trying to keep the conversation light. "I'll be fine. Just make sure you work hard so you don't end up here with me." But rather than make Mina smile, she saw the concern in Mina's eyes. "Don't worry," Momo continued seriously. "I haven't given up on my dream, Mittang. I promise I'll debut one day."

Momo stood up from the training room floor and wiped her tears away. She needed to keep her promise to the younger girl. Mina was the kind of person who would feel guilty for debuting while knowing that Momo could not. And Momo was someone who couldn't bear to make Mina sad. To ensure a happy debut for both Mina and Sana, Momo wanted to keep working hard.

As she danced alone in the empty training room, Momo realized that her dream had changed from the beginning. At first her dream was just to debut. But somewhere along the way, her dream was to debut with Sana and Mina. It wasn't just a goal or a promise between friends; it was her deepest dream to debut with her two closest friends. Momo just wished she had realized that subtle difference sooner, before the opportunity to make her dream come true had disappeared.

Now Momo's dream had changed again, just slightly. She would work to debut not just for herself, but to make Sana and Mina proud of her. Momo would work even harder from now on.

* * *

Mina didn't believe in miracles or fate. So how could she describe what just happened? She stood next to Sana on the final "Sixteen" stage as a member of team Major, waiting with baited breath to see who would be moved down to team Minor. One at a time people's names were called to leave the stage. Mina held her breath each time, but she and Sana remained safe until they were part of the final seven.

She and Sana were officially part of Twice.

Mina was so happy and so sad at the same time. Her dream of debuting came true and she had Sana by her side, but Momo... Her heart ached. Momo was the hardest working trainee at the company. She embodied dedication and talent. Compared to Mina who had only trained for a year, Momo deserved this spot in Twice more than she did.

And poor Sana, who had dreamed of debuting with Momo before Mina even arrived. If Mina had the power to do it, she would have switched places with Momo right now. For the sake of Sana and Momo, in return for all of the care and protection and love and support they had given her this past year and a half, Mina would have gladly given her place to Momo if she could. But Momo wouldn't have been pleased by that outcome and Sana wouldn't have been pleased either. If it wasn't a debut that consisted of all three of them, none of them would've been happy with it, and yet somehow that was the situation they were in now...

In the midst of Mina trying to come to terms with her new reality, the MC announced that the lineup for Twice was not complete yet. Mina felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine as JYP declared that the roster would expand from seven to nine. There was a deep longing in her heart to hear Momo's name called. Her chest ached with that desire, but what were the odds that JYP would do something as outrageous as promoting an eliminated member?

Mina held her breath and prayed. Tzuyu's name was called and Mina prayed even harder. And then Momo's name was announced and Mina's mind went blank.

The tears burst forth before Mina's brain could even process her emotions. She and Sana were immediately in each other's arms, sobbing with gratitude. Mina didn't believe in miracles and she didn't believe in fate. But after today, Mina felt like she could believe in miracles just a little bit more.

They ran over to hug Momo as the older girl made her way onto stage, completely overcome with emotion. No words could be said or heard over the noise and through their tears, but no words were needed. The three Japan team members just held each other as they cried, grateful that they could debut together like they had all dreamed of doing.

This was the first time that Mina, Sana, and Momo were together as members of Twice. This moment marked the beginning of a new life for the three of them.

**Author's Note:**

> **Connections To Reality:**
> 
> Mina talks about Sana and Momo taking care of her first birthday in Korea:
> 
> <http://twiceglobal.tumblr.com/post/141596634186/eng-trans-160324-twices-mina-every-birthday>
> 
> This was supposed to be the intro to a really long Misamo poly fic, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I hope I can come back to this story one day though, because I have the story all planned out and it means a lot to me.


End file.
